PLOT(ed) House, 1999

The PLOT Houses, or “Houses of the intrigue”, are a set of proposals for dwellings offering multiple scenarios in which multiple uses are associated with the fixed structures. Taeg Nishimoto materializes these uses in the form of detailed panels enabling every inhabitant to build his own living scenario utilizing wires and tacks to link the elements. These houses were developed over three projects: PLOT House (1992), PLOT House(s) (1993), and PLOT(ed) House (1995).

The title of the panels for the model of the PLOT(ed) House, Any attempt to seem natural would only make him more conspicuous, is a quote from one of Peter Handke’s works, A Moment of True Feeling (1975). In his description of the Plot(ed) House Nishimoto states: “The circulation system of the Plot(ed) House, composed of stairs, makes possible a type of daily living based on the cooperation of the inhabitants. Although this structure has four floors, each inhabitant occupies a part of three different floors, comprising a living room, a bathroom and a kitchen-dining area. In order to move around between these articulated spaces, each inhabitant must obtain the cooperation of another inhabitant to be able to use the stairs (…) The inhabitants utilize intercoms to communicate with each other, which are located in each space. The instability and the dynamics of this domestic setup, created by the momentary interactions between the inhabitants, are what create (like a game) the enigmatic condition of this program” (Taeg Nishimoto).